Beneath the Burning Sand GaaraXHinata
by Lightfellow
Summary: After six years, Gaara returned to Konoha again as an 18 year old Kazekage, to help Konoha in the most dangerous mission ever. He meets Hinata, an 18 year old Chunin whom he didn't think was significant.
1. Chapter 1: Enter Gaara of the Sand

**A/N: Konnichiwa! It's my pleasure to introduce this new fic to everyone. This is a fic that is pro GaaraXHinata. Don't ask me why I chose this pairing. I just randomly decided to. They seemed like an unlikely pair, and that's why it's all the more interesting to pair them up in my fic.**

**For those of you that are AGAINST GaaraXHinata, I don't think I need to say this but PLEASE just stay away from this fic if it offends you so. Don't even bother flaming me because that's just juvenile.**

**Okay, here's a story synopsis to let you know what you're getting yourself into. **

_Gaara returns toKonohaafter the Chunnin selection exam under a temporary bond to serve Konoha. He meets Hinata. A girl he didn't think he will ever notice. But things changed drastically when Orochimaru tries to attack Konoha again. And Gaara realized there is a precious someone he would stake his life to protect._

**During the course of this fiction, you may come across "Filler". Filler is just a small segment of dialogue between characters that DID NOT take place in the course of the fiction. They're there just for fun. To entertain and to enrage you, the readers. :)**

**Japanese words used in this chapter:**  
Hai - Yes  
Kun/San - A form of addressing another person. Usually attached after a person's name. They are usually used for males.  
Chan - A form of addressing another person. Usually attached after a person's name. They areusually usedfor females.  
Sabaku no Gaara - Gaara of the Sand  
Sabaku SouSou - Desert Graveyard

Filler: Words cannot describe  
Gaara: …Hinata.  
Hinata: Gaara-kun?  
Gaara: …  
Hinata: Y…yes?  
Gaara:…Hinata…chan…  
Hinata: Something wrong?  
Naruto: (from far away) Sakura-chan! Wait for me!  
Hinata: Naruto-kun…(looks towards Naruto)  
Gaara: …-.-

* * *

_(And so begins, the real story...)_

_In the quiet shadows of the night, a little boy lays awake under the moonlight…For quiet slumber is something he can never experience. Only death, invokes his brilliance._

Chapter One: Enter Gaara of the Desert

"Ga…Gaara…" the man whispered a name so fearsome that his body trembled involuntarily. The sand that now covers his body, threatened to engulf him in one single stroke. He felt his heart weakened as if the very life was being squeezed out of him.

"Sabaku no Gaara." The cold, hard voice replied. His pale green eyes revealed nothingness. No emotion. No hatred. No love.

Simply nothing.

The sand now crept up to the trapped man's mouth, and soon, it would cover his nose and his eyes till he see and hear nothing.

Just like the empty soul in Gaara's little body.

"No…NO! I can't die here! NO!" The man let out a final scream. It sounded more like a plea.

Wait, something is changing. Gaara's expressions. No longer emotionless. The man widened his eyes when he realized Gaara was smiling now.

No, not smiling.

Grinning.

"Pathetic." The young boy said. His lips moved again. The man couldn't hear what he had just said.

"Sabaku SouSou." The one with the red hair whispered. His eyes narrowed into something similar to a scowl.

_Desert Graveyard_, the trapped man realized. That's what Gaara had just said.

And then, all went black.

* * *

Hyuuga Hinata sat quietly by the tree. Her thoughts immersed into a book she was reading:

_First Love: How to get him_

Hinata sighed. She would never ever muster up enough courage to tell Uzumaki Naruto how she really felt about him. How could she anyway? When he was so clearly smitten with Haruno Sakura instead?

Closing the book now, Hinata stood up and dust away the grass on her jacket and pants. From somewhere far away, she heard the sound of a puppy.

Kiba-kun?

She started to walk towards the direction, while hiding the book inside her jacket. Inuzuka Kiba came into view.

"Yo! Hinata!" Kiba greeted and Akamaru gave a bark.

"Ohio, Kiba-kun." Hinata greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask the same thing." Kiba said. "I just finish training with Akamaru. What about you?"

"Umm…" Hinata muttered. "I…I was just reading."

"Reading?" Kiba stared at her. It didn't help that Kiba was in the same genin team as her, so much so that he has already know her well enough to detect when she is hiding something.

"Hai." Hinata said quickly, hoping to change the subject. "Umm, where's Shino-san?"

Kiba shrugged. "Catching bugs, I bet. Wanna go grab a bite or something?" Kiba asked, already walking away.

"Umm…hai!" Hinata muttered and hurried to catch up with Kiba's long strides.

* * *

**Pls review if you like the story. Then I'll know if I should continue this. **


	2. Chapter 2: An S Rank Mission!

**A/N: OMG! Serious problem has arrived! I just realize I made a grave mistake and I'm going to change the synopsis of this story soon. The real synopsis of the story should be: **_After six years, Gaara returned to Konoha again as an 18 year old Kazekage, to help Konoha in the most dangerous mission ever. He meets Hinata, a 18 year old Chunin whom he didn't think was significant. But gradually, Gaara will learn that there is a precious someone he will stake his life to protect._

**Don't worry. The story will not be drastically changed, just the timeline. Again I apologize for this mistake. I didn't think it through properly when I wrote the first chapter. -.-**

**New Japanese words used in this chapter:  
**Ohio - Good morning  
Sama - A form of addressing another person. Usually attached after a person's name. They areusually used for addressing older and more senior people.

**Story Timeline** _(In order not to confuse the readers ANY further, I've come up with a brief story timeline.)_  
Three years have passed since Gaara's _incident_ with the Akatsuki members, revolving around the loss of his Shukaku. Naruto managed to save him but it is not yet known whether Gaara did manage to retrieve Shukaku back in him. Gaara is 18 years old now, as is all the other chunins in Konoha. But Gaara is a Kazekage while Hinata remained to be a chunin. Neji is 19 years old, and a Jounin. The missing-nin from the Country of Wind is not an original character of the Naruto anime.

Chapter Two: An S-rank mission!

The spring leaves of the Konoha village sprinkled the pathway, making everything around it seemed greener and fresher than usual. The light-heartedness of springtime was eminent in the faces of the villagers.

Especially the young Chunins.

"Stop fooling around, Kiba." Shino frowned, eyeing his teammate who was now happily eating away at the bowl of ramen in front of them.

"Naruto is right. This stuff is great!" Kiba said, grinning widely. "And we've no missions today!"

"Kiba-san…" Hinata said, glancing at Kiba. It seemed as if nothing has change much even though they were all chunins now, at the age of 18 years.

"Shut up, Shino." Kiba was about to protest when a looming shadow cast over the three chunins.

"Huh?" The three chunins looked up to see a familiar figure.

"Tsunade-sama, Ohio." Hinata greeted politely, bowing her head. The shapely hokage before them nodded and smiled back.

But her smile quickly faded, and replaced by a serious look. "Hinata, come with me."

"Huh?" Hinata widened her pale purplish eyes, surprised that the Hokage would request for her.

Tsunade turned around, ready to leave. "I'll explain the situation."

* * *

Quiet footsteps approached the village of Konoha. They stopped at the entrance of the hidden ninja village.

"What's wrong?" the taller, blond girl asked.

"Nothing." The short red-haired boy replied, his voice low.

"Uh…" The oldest of the three muttered, scratching his head. "So, Gaara, Temari, let's go."

"Kankurou." Temari, the blond girl cast a quick glance at him, as if telling him something.

_Don't do anything without Gaara's consent first!_

Kankurou seemed to remember something, because he quickly turned to Gaara, the shortest red-haired boy.

"So, what should we…uh, do now?" he asked, giving Temari a quick look.

"Well, let's see what Gaara says." Temari replied quickly, looking at Gaara.

Gaara appeared to be deep in thought. His dark-rimmed eyes narrowed slightly, and there was a sudden dangerous aura about him. After a good ten seconds, he finally spoke again. "We'll hear what she has to say."

* * *

When Hinata reached the private study room of the hokage, Tsunade, she was surprised to see a few Jounins have gathered together.

Amidst the Jounins, they saw the familiar face of Hyuuga Neji. A lump formed in her throat. She'd never been really comfortable with Neji around. It didn't help with the fact that he had indirectly tried to kill her six years ago, in her first Chunin Selection exam.

But that was so long ago and Hinata wasn't about to bare any grudges. If anything else, she wanted, more than anything, to be accepted by Neji.

"Umm…hi, Neji-san." Hinata said quietly, glancing at him.

The Jounin turned around, and seemed slightly surprised to see her there. But he didn't say anything else except gave her a quiet nod.

Neji-san has changed a lot during these past few years, Hinata thought. He seemed more confident than ever, and also, kinder.

The entire room was filled with dread and suspense. Hinata was curious as to why she was summoned here. At the corner of the room, she saw Tenten and Lee standing next to each other, a look of seriousness on their faces.

But Tsunade didn't seem like she was going to talk soon. She had sat in her usual seat, in the center of the room, facing everyone. Her eyes were closed, but there was a distinct frown on her face.

It didn't take them long to find out why Tsunade hadn't started the meeting.

Because three more ninjas appeared at the doorway.

Hinata gasped when she saw who they were.

"Isn't that…Gaara?" Hinata stammered, very confused now.

"Ga…Gaara? What's he doing here?" Lee exclaimed out loud. It seemed like it's been ages since they last saw them. Ever since _that_ incident.

_How long as it been?_ Hinata thought. _Six years, was it?_

"Okay, looks like everyone's arrived." Tsunade said and stood up. "There's been a new situation."

"New situation?" Lee asked, completely lost this time. Beside him, Tenten gently nudged him and reminded him to be quiet.

Tsunade cast a glance at Naruto, before continuing. "As you can see. Konoha has the honor of inviting the Kazekage here."

"Kazekage…" Hinata muttered, more to herself than to anyone else.

_That's right. Three years ago…Gaara has…_

"This is a S-ranked mission!" Tsunade suddenly said and the room became deadly silent. "Two days ago, we've received information on the Akatsuki Organization."

There were certain murmurs in the room, especially on the chunins' side.

"Akatsuki…" Hinata was not unfamiliar with that name. Just three years ago, Naruto and the others had tried to save Gaara from them…

_Gaara…_

Hinata cast a glance at him. The red-haired boy, now eighteen, still did not seem like he had change at all. He was still small framed, and he wore his red outfit, with his sand gourd behind him. His hair might have been a bit longer. And his eyes, although still dark-rimmed, seemed softer, kinder.

_No wait, maybe he has changed a little,_ Hinata thought. _Gaara seemed more…more mature. And taller._

Or maybe that's just her own imagination.

"Yes." Tsunade continued, "I'm sure all of you here know about this Organization."

"What are they up to, this time?" Lee suddenly asked, wide-eyed as always.

Tsunade didn't appreciate being interrupted. "Listen carefully. I won't say this twice. The Akatsuki Organization is going to try to recruit a powerful person. And if she agrees, she would become a very dangerous threat."

"She?" Hinata blurted out. It almost seemed weird to hear Tsunade talked about another "powerful female" when the hokage herself, was so strong.

Tsunade nodded, a concerned look fell across her face. "Yes. Some of you may have heard of her. She's a missing-nin in the country of Water."

_Country of water…? _Hinata thought.

"Anyway." Tsunade continued, "This person must be rescued, at _all_ cost."

_At all cost…_

"What does that mean, Hokage-sama?" Lee stepped forward and looked at the Hokage curiously.

Tsunade lowered her glance, and turned around just in time to meet Hinata's eyes. "That means, her life over all of yours."

* * *

**Review if you like this chapter...there's like 40 hits but only 3 reviews...TT**


	3. Chapter 3: Across the Irishia Sea

**A/N: For those of you who aren't clear on this. Neji is the only Jounin in the Konoha team, while Lee, Tenten and Hinata are still Chunins. Gaara is a Kazekage and the rank of his two siblings are unknown.**

**The South Irishia Sea is something that isoriginal in this fanfiction. Therefore, don't flame me on the geographical aspects of this chapter. Thank you and hope you'll enjoy this chapter.**

  
Chapter Three: Across the Irishia Sea

The mission was given a very brief outline. Even Hinata wasn't satisfied with the lack of information given. And Tsunade-sama didn't seem like she was going to explain any further.

Hinata had expected to be in Neji's team since this was her first ever important mission but it turned out that Tsunade-sama had other plans.

"Hinata, you will be in Gaara's team." Tsunade-sama said, and before Hinata had the chance to react to the surprising news, the hokage continued speaking, "The scouts said she seemed to be moving west, towards the Country of Lightning. The Akatsuki Organization must be on her tail now. All you have to do is…"

* * *

Lee sighed. Something still puzzled him about what the hokage had said. It didn't seem like her._Her life over all of yours…_

"Why did Tsunade-sama said something like that? Aren't the lives of comrades more important than the mission itself?" Lee asked, folding his arms as he watched Neji and Tenten packed their weapons and equipments.

Neji appeared to be at a loss for words. Finally he sighed and shrugged. "This is an S-rank mission. While we must protect our friends, we must also rescue this person."

"Who is she, Neji-kun?" Tenten asked, peering up at their leader. "Tsunade-sama did not leave a name…"

Neji paused, "Uh, I'm not too sure myself."

The two chunins stared at Neji, who only gave them a helpless smile.

* * *

The entire team was spread out in groups of two. Team A was made up of Gaara, Hinata, Temari and Kankurou. Team B included Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee.

Even Hinata could tell this was sort of an "all-out" mission. Is this missing-nin really so important?

Tsunade herself mapped out the routes that they were going to take. Because the South Irishia Sea separated the Country of Lightning, therefore they were to take separate ships.

This was to reduce the chance of an all-out ambush, likely to be set by the Akatsuki Organization.

When they arrived at their ship, they were pleased to note that everything was well prepared before hand.

"I hope none of you get sea-sick easily." Neji said to his teammates as he began to unload the sail.

"No way!" Lee answered enthusiastically for the others. He was excited to be part of this important mission, yet he could not help but feel too ill informed of what is really going on.

Somehow, he was getting a bad vibe from this mission itself.

"Excellent." Neji replied and set the sails. The ship began to move.

* * *

South of Team B's ship, the three Sand Nins and Hinata began to unload their sail. Kankurou cast a glance at Temari. It was weird to have a Konoha Nin in their midst. They were so used to working together in three. Now that there was a fourth team member, things just felt different.

Hinata herself, never felt more uncomfortable than right now. She quietly unload the sail, very aware of the strange awkward tension in the air.

"She didn't even bother explaining the details fully to us." Kankurou suddenly said, referring to the Hokage.

Temari did not reply straight away. She could understand what Kankurou was trying to say. It was true that the hidden village of Sand and Leaf had re-signed a new alliance under the new Hokage and the new Kazekage's names. However, this mission was slightly puzzling to her as well.

"Gaara," she couldn't help but asked, "What did her letter really said?" Temari was referring to the letter Tsunade had sent to them two days ago, requesting for their allied help.

"She needs our help." Gaara replied simply. His sea-green eyes cast out towards the endless deep blues of the Irishia Sea.

Hinata watched him out of the corner of his eyes. Gaara seemed serious, as usual. But she tried to tell herself that there must be a reason why she was assigned to Gaara's team instead of Neji's. Maybe the hokage thought she could be of useful help to the Sand Nins.

Hinata was determined not to be a burden.

"Umm…excuse me," Hinata suddenly said. The three Sand Nins turned around to look at her. She felt cold dark-rimmed eyes watching her so she quickly looked away. "I mean…I'm Hyuuga Hinata." She said, bowing her head politely. "Nice to meet all of you."

Temari smirked loudly. "As long as you don't get in our way, we'll be more than grateful."

"She won't." Cold, unfeeling voice said.

Hinata looked up, widening her eyes when she realized it was Gaara who had spoken.

Gaara… 

Kankurou shrugged. "Just stay behind us at all times."

Hinata nodded, somewhat embarrassedly. She knew the three Sand Nins were powerful, and she was weak.

_I'll…I'll try not to get in the way,_ she thought, lowering her eyes.

Standing a few feet in front of her, Gaara turned around and stared out into the ocean. He didn't think much of this Hyuuga heir. But he didn't like the way his siblings made fun of her just because she was weak. It somehow, reminded himself of his childhood, where he was discriminated due to his strength.

Their ship began to move and the clouds above them seemed to thicken.

_A bad omen_, Gaara thought.

* * *

**Filler: Meaningless Filler Part one  
**Lee: Neji! The ship! It's won't move!  
Neji and Tenten: OMG! 00  
Lee: Oh man, what are we gonna do now? TT  
Tenten: Call the hokage!  
Neji: I'll use my Chakra to push the ship!  
Gai: (suddenly appears): A problem, my dear Lee-san?  
Lee: Gai-SENSEI! TT  
Gai: LEE! TT

**Read and review, ne? **


	4. Chapter 4: Hidden Mist

**Sorry for the late late update. I've been really busy due to exams. So please do understand. :) Anyway, here's a few FAQ that I'll answer incase I got more confused readers. "**

**1. Are you going to update this story soon?  
- I will be doing major updates on this fiction, as well many others once my exams are over on the 25th November.**

2. I spot some mistakes in your story which does not correspond to what had happen in the manga/anime.  
- Indeed, there are some mistakes but some of them are intentional because I have my own idea when I wrote this fiction which does not correspond to the official story by Kishimoto.

3. Does Gaara still has Shukaku?  
- You'll soon find out. :)

4. Who the hell is the missing-nin?  
- Someone entirely made up from a figment of my imagination. ;)

5. Where is my GaaraXHinata action!  
- Be patient, my dear. :D

Chapter Four: Hidden Mist

Neji was the leader of Team B and he felt at ease with this newfound leadership. Being a Jounin meant he had more responsibility.

It didn't help that Lee and Tenten both knew him so well, that they tend to overwrite his authority at times.

"Lee, cast the sails away. We can't be left behind!" Neji ordered. The ocean breeze was calm but a brooding cloud had settled above their heads.

"Looks like rain." Tenten observed, a small frown on her face. She hated the rain more than anything.

"If we're quick enough, we could beat that rain." Neji said. Just as he finished speaking, a low rumbling sound could be heard.

"Or maybe not." Neji sighed and brushed his hair back as he finished his sentence. He didn't notice Tenten staring tentatively at him, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Don't worry, guys! We CAN beat this rain! And even if we don't, it won't stop us from reaching our destination!" Lee exclaimed, full of energy and passion as always.

"…" Neji lowered his gaze and stared at the empty sea ahead of them. It looked to be a long mission indeed.

* * *

The darkening clouds let out a low rumbling sound. Before long, the entire Irishia Sea was cast into shadows as a brooding storm threatened to make its arrival.

"Great. Just great." Temari muttered, folding her arms. She cast a sideward glance as Gaara. He was sitting quietly at the front of the ship, staring thoughtfully out at the sea.

"Umm…Kankurou-san…?" Hinata muttered uncertainly as she walked towards the Sand Nin. "Can you tell me more about this missing-nin?"

Kankurou looked slightly surprised that Hinata had tried to start a conversation with him, even though he knew little to nothing about the missing-nin they were after.

"Actually, I really have no idea." Kankurou replied honestly. "The details were only discussed between Gaara and Tsunade. Maybe you can ask him." He said, casting a glance at the Kazekage, who was sitting quietly and facing out towards the sea.

Hinata looked hesitant. But after a brief moment of thought, she decided she should go and talk to Gaara after all. Not only to find out more about her mission, but also because she thought it would be good to know more about the people she would be working with.

Shyly, she walked up towards Gaara and stopped a few distance behind him. Biting her lips down nervously, she started to say, "Ga-Gaara-sama…?"

There was no reply from Gaara. It was as if he didn't heard her. Or else, he had chosen to ignore her.

Hinata decided she should try again, louder. "Gaara-sama?"

This time, Gaara turned around and widened his eyes slightly as if acknowledging her presence without words.

"I heard you know more about this missing-nin than the rest of us." Hinata continued, lowering her gaze. Gaara had a very strong glare, which made her afraid of him sometimes.

Gaara nodded briefly. "She's from the Hidden Mist Village."

Hinata swallowed. She would never imagined herself to be talking to Gaara like this. As if, they were equals. But she couldn't help but wanted to know more about this missing person.

"Do you know what's she like?" Hinata asked again, inching nearer to Gaara as he was speaking very softly.

Gaara paused thoughtfully. "She's a Genin."

"Genin?" Behind her, Temari seemed to overhear this and was now walking towards them. "Did you just say that this S-ranked mission is based on the rescue of a miserable genin?"

"A…a genin?" Hinata muttered, her pale violet eyes widened in surprise.

_Her life over yours…_

Tsunade-sama had said this missing-nin was a powerful ninja. And that they must save her from the Akatsuki Organization at all cost.

_But…she's a genin…only?_

Gaara's face remained expressionless. " She's a genin because she left the village at the age of 12 years old."

"Left the village?" It was Temari's turn to question.

Gaara nodded. "Hai. Her reason for leaving the village is unknown but it is said that her strength is equal to that of the Sannin."

"Sannin?" Hinata gasped out loud. It just seemed so exaggerated. She can't imagine that they were going to rescue a person that is as strong as Jiraiya or Tsunade.

"That's right." Gaara said solemnly, looking away out at the sea. Above them, another deeper rumbling sound was heard.

"Hey! If she's so powerful, why do we need to save her? She's definitely good enough to save herself!" Temari retorted, rolling her eyes.

Across her, Gaara looked away, feeling a deep dread rise up in him.

* * *

"That's right, she's equivalent to a Sannin." Neji finished, a faraway look in his light purplish eyes. Lee and Tenten had asked him the same question.

"But…then why…?" Lee started to say.

* * *

"We're not here to _save_ her, as the Hokage so politely puts it." His voice was low as usual, and he continued to fold his arms, staring out into the sea.

"…What do you mean, Gaara?" Temari asked. She couldn't help but feel worried now.

"This missing-nin…she doesn't need our help. She's strong enough to deal with the Akatsuki members…"

"Then…?" Kankurou started to say.

* * *

"We're here to…_stop_ her." Neji finished, turning around so that he was looking directly at both Lee and Tenten.

Tenten widened her hazel brown eyes. "Wait a minute, but…"

"Tsunade-sama said…" Lee stammered helplessly.

"Hokage-sama was just putting it in a politically correct term." Neji interrupted, crossing his arms and looking at his two teammates. "It's true we are suppose to _save _her, so to speak. But that is if she hasn't join the Akatsuki Organization."

"And…and that means if she already did…?" Tenten started to see the whole picture.

"Yes, that's right." Neji said. The wind had started to pick up and the sky above them grew darker. "That would mean we would have to…"

* * *

"…Kill her." Gaara replied, his face emotionless.

Both Temari and Kankurou stared at each other for a second, before turning back to their Kazekage, and also their youngest brother.

"Are…are you serious, Gaara?" Hinata muttered. She can't imagine that their mission was so dark and under-handed. But then, what Gaara said, does make sense.

Gaara did not reply, but continued to stare somewhat distantly out at the sea. A minute later, a low thundering sound was heard again and the sea around them grew misty.

A storm was approaching.

Kankurou approached them suddenly. "Looks to be a big storm coming up."

The sky was decidedly gray now. And the mist around their ship grew thicker.

"I didn't know it would get so misty. Might be hard to navigate the ship." Temari muttered, trying to see what's ahead in the ocean, but it was futile. The mist was too thick.

Hinata turned and saw that Gaara had suddenly stood up. He was staring intently out at the sea, a look of graveness written across his face.

"What's wrong, Gaara-sama?" she asked concernedly.

"The mist…" The Kazekage said.

* * *

"I can't see anything, Neji!" Lee exclaimed, widening his already huge eyes. "I don't know where to navigate the ship towards!"

"Keep to the initial route planned." Neji replied calmly. He mustn't lose his cool in front of his teammates.

Even though, deep inside him. He was already feeling turbulent and uneasy.

"Once it starts raining, I think the mist will clear." Tenten said hopefully.

* * *

"…Mist?" Hinata stared at Gaara intently. "What do you mean?"

Gaara did not directly reply to her. Instead, he had started to move up closer to the deck, nearer to where Kankurou was.

"This mist." Gaara muttered, turning towards Kankurou. "It's unnatural."

Kankurou nodded quietly.

"What do you mean 'unnatural'?" Temari asked, walking towards the two of them.

"Remember, this missing-nin we're looking for, is from the Hidden village of Mist." Kankurou replied.

"What do we do, Gaara-sama?" Hinata asked, inching closer to the group.

"Stay alert." The Kazekage said, turning his head slightly so that Hinata could see the outline of his jaw and his nose.And he also added, "Just call me Gaara."

* * *

"Stay alert, everyone." Neji said.

"Hai!" Lee replied quickly, glancing at Tenten, who only gave a small nod.

_Does this mist mean…that we're too late?_ Neji wondered, a sense of dread creeping up into him.

"Neji!" Tenten's voice snapped him back into the real world. "The waves are getting wild. Our ship is already being thrown off-route!"

There was little choice left. The mist was so thick; it refused to let them see what was ahead of them.

But maybe…

"Byakugan!" Neji's eyes turned almost ghostly white, small veins appeared at the side of his eyes and they crept down to the corners of his cheeks.

With his Byakugan, Neji was relieved to see that it worked. He could see through the mist and their ship was already heading…

"Towards the rocks!" Neji suddenly cried out. "Lee! Turn the ship around! Quick!"

* * *

**Okay, I hope this is a long enough chapter for everyone. Anymore questions, direct them to the Comment box so that I can answer them in my next chapter. Happy Reading:)**


	5. Chapter 5: Unwanted Company

**A/N: Hello dearest readers and reviewers, very sorry for the delay of this fiction. I had actually lost a copy of it after I reformatted my computer. It was by sheer luck that I managed to retrive the document from another computer. I must again, emphasize that although I'm trying my best to make the characters/events as real to the naruto manga as possible, there are many parts in which I made it out from my own fictional imagination. Please do expect this fiction to take a little off course from the original manga.**

**Chapter Five: Unwanted Company**

"The mist is thickening, Gaara." Kankurou said, as an effort to see what Gaara would think up next. They had been thrown in the mist for ten minutes now, with the waves pushing their ship further and further off to nowhere.

Hinata herself, was getting nervous. Gingerly, she put up both hands in front of her and was dismayed to see that she couldn't even see the outline of her fingers clearly.

Yet, Gaara had not issued any commands. Hinata wondered what could the Kazekage be thinking. In any case, if they didn't start to do something, they would have no idea of where their ship was moving towards.

Kankurou glanced at Temari, who only frowned and looked back at Gaara.

"I can use my fan to take care of the mist." Temari started to say and walked towards Gaara. "Then we'll be able to see where…"

"…No." Gaara lifted his hand to stop her. His eyes never once left the sea ahead of them. Not that he could see a sea right now. They were fully engulfed in thick white mist.

"No…?" Temari widened her eyes in surprise.

Even though she was having trouble spotting everything around her, Hinata silently activated Byakugan and managed to zoom into where the Kazekage was standing.

His face was the same stoic, cold expression. But Hinata detected perhaps, a slight frown on those dark, and dare she say, sinful eyes?

What are you planning, Gaara? She thought, her heartbeat skipping faster with each passing seconds. 

Gaara slowly turned around, but even in the thick mist, and Hinata was certain he wouldn't have been able to see anything. It was as if, those dark and soulless eyes were looking right at her.

She shuddered despite herself and lowered her gaze immediately.

Then Gaara spoke again. "This mist is not meant for us."

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"Lee!" Tenten cried out. The thick mist blinded her eyes but she heard steady footsteps moving towards the navigation deck.

_Neji, we're counting on you,_ she thought.

"Lee, I'm right here." Neji said, standing beside Rock Lee, who was trying hard to turn the navigation wheel around.

"Neji-san," Lee was relieved. He couldn't see anything. Not even the navigation wheel in front of him.

"You did great." Neji replied. "We've steered clear of the rocks."

"But…but what do we do now?" Lee asked. He felt a warm hand rest on his shoulder.

"We wait." The young Jounin said, his voice held only silent concern for their journey ahead.

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"What do you mean the mist is not meant for us?" Temari asked. The thick mist had fully surrounded them, making everyone and everything literally invisible.

Gaara did not reply immediately. And Hinata couldn't help, but stole a timid glance at his direction again. This time around, Gaara already had his eyes on the sea again. His expression grave as ever.

Behind her, Kankurou tried to move to where his siblings were standing but knock into a wooden pole instead.

"Baka!" Kankurou cursed, rubbing his temple.

"Kankurou-sama, are you alright?" Hinata turned around immediately and started to hurry to his side.

But the Kazekage intercepted immediately. "Don't move." He ordered, still in his perfect 'arm-folding' stance.

Hinata turned around and looked at him, quizzically. His words were strong and authoritative.

"B-but…" the Hyuuga heir started to stammer in defense.

However, Gaara intercepted her words. "It has begun." He said grimly.

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Ten miles down the South Irishia Sea, one small ship was stranded. The thick mist embraced them without warning.

"Is this a trap?" The taller man in black cloak asked.

His partner did not reply to the question. Instead, he said, "Navigate the ship three miles to the east."

"But…"

"Do as I say, Kisame."

Kisame nodded and swallowed his pride. There were never any room for discussion with an Uchiha.

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"This mist will not last long." Neji said. "As soon as the storm comes and the wind starts to blow…"

Tenten nodded quickly. Although she could not see where Neji was, she could tell from the direction of his voice that he was ahead of her.

"Neji-san," Lee suddenly said. "I…I think it has started."

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked. Before any reply came though, she felt the first drop of cool liquid slid past her cheek.

"It's started to rain." Lee said quietly. Tenten nodded, even though her comrades probably couldn't see it. She silently thanked the Gods for the great timing. Mother Nature was watching over them. As long as the rain came in full swept, the mist would be cleared soon enough.

It only took about five minutes for the rain to come mercilessly down on them. The wind blew furiously and the rain that plummet from the sky washed away the mist.

Tenten never loved the rain. It ruined her hair and made her feel sticky thereafter. But this time, she couldn't have been more thankful for it.

"Good work, Lee." Neji commented after a while. The mist has decidedly clear after the heavy rain poured down on them. Lee was doing a superb job in navigating the ship back into its initial course.

"Neji," Tenten said, coming up towards the leader. She could see everything clearly now. "That mist just now, was it…from her?"

Neji paused. "Yes. Without a doubt."

"So…does that mean…she's the enemy, now?"

This was something Neji did not want to have to think about. But what Tenten said was significant.

And if that was the case…

It would be terrible news.

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"The mist is clearing!" Temari noted, excitedly. Even though her fan would have just did the job nicely. But since Gaara refused to let her do her tricks…

"Gaara," Temari suddenly said. "Why didn't you want me to use my fan?"

Gaara turned and face her. Behind them, Kankurou was already navigating the ship towards their destination.

"Because that would help the enemy." He said simply.

"…The enemy?" It was Hinata's turn to query.

The Kazekage turned and looked at her and for a moment, Hinata thought she saw him frowned a little, as if suddenly realizing her existence onboard this ship. With an unreadable expression, he said, "This mist was created to slow down the enemy. And that means, anyone who's _after_ her."

"…Including us?" The Hyuuga asked again, frowning ever so slightly at the mild indication of it all.

"There are more than _just_ us, Hinata." Gaara said. And Hinata froze, not because of the strong significance of the Kazekage's words, but because he had said her name. It just felt weird…but strangely…warm at the same time.

Perhaps, she could get used to him calling her by the name.

Before her mind wandered off again, Gaara continued, "There is another enemy, somewhere in this sea. The Akatsuki Organization."

Hinata was speechless. Her mind snapped back to the reality of their mission. If Gaara was right, does that mean they were closer to the enemy, rather than the missing-nin?

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**Thanks for reading and do drop in a review. It'll be very much appreciated. :)**


	6. Chapter 6: On Arrival

**A/N: Thanks for all the comments and reviews and ideas. Because I've been slack in learning my naruto history, there might be some "misinformation" written here and I must apologize for that and asked that you, the readers, to not take any offense. Also, because the main protagonist is a character completely made up by my imagination, I asked that you try to keep an open mind on her characterization. **

**Chapter Six: On Arrival**

Lee tiredly climbed out of the ship. It felt good to be standing on solid ground again.

"That was some storm." Tenten muttered, trying hard to squeeze the water out of her hair and clothes.

"But it proves to be a helpful one." Neji replied. "Anyway, no time to rest. We need to move on." He said seriously.

The forest that greeted them looked unfriendly. There were no signs of any other people about, except for the consistent chirping of the birds and the sound of crickets.

"Uh…you mean go through this thick forest?" Lee asked. Not that he was afraid of the dark; it was just that he would prefer if there was a nicer route. The forest looked like they could just as easily gotten lost in it.

"It's the only way to go to the other side of the island." Tenten said, recalling the History lesion she had listened during her Genin days. "The Country of Lightning is surrounded by dense forest."

"…Okay! Then let's go!" Lee said, nudging Tenten along. Neji was already at the entrance of the forest.

"Be careful. There may be wild beasts and traps." Neji said, turning around to face his team.

"Not a problem!" Lee grinned and gave him an easy thumbs-up.

As they started to make their way through the forest, the wild trees and shrubs proved to be their first challenge. The greenery was so thick that they couldn't even see a proper road for them to tread on. It seemed that hovering among the branches were difficult too, due to the uneven terrain and the messy growth of the trees.

"You think Gaara and the others arrived at their check point already?" Lee asked, as they walked silently through the dim forest. The rain had stopped abruptly but the deep forest provided ill illumination from the sky.

"They should be." Neji said. He was concentrating hard on cutting away the thick shrubs and bushes that blocked their path, by gathering Chakra into his palms.

Tenten watched admiringly at Neji. She felt fortunate that she was paired up with him and Lee in this mission. It just felt…right. And not to mention, Neji was someone she could totally trust in a life and death situation.

"You know," Lee was saying, as he followed behind Tenten, "I thought what Tsunade-sama said, was a bit harsh."

"What is?" Tenten asked. She was still looking at Neji, who was in front of her, cutting a clean path for them. It was times like this that she could admire Neji silently without the need to hide her inner feelings, since Neji wouldn't know she was watching.

Unless he used the Byakugan.

"The thing about _'her life over ours'_, was just…" Lee started to say.

"She was just emphasizing on the importance of this mission." Neji interrupted from up front. "Don't take it personally, Lee."

"…Yeah…"

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"Not a problem." Temari said, smiling smugly at the dense trees in front of them.

Hyuuga Hinata widened her pale violet eyes ever so slightly at the unfriendly forest. Did Temari just said it was not a problem for them? She wondered at the significance of the Sand-nin's words. How could this be not a problem? She can hardly see anything through that forest!

Behind her, Gaara seemed to move a little closer. Hinata instinctively turned around to face him, but saw that he had his eyes intently on his sibling. Curious, Hinata followed his line of gaze, and realized that Temari had stepped forward and was opening the large fan she had hung it behind her.

"Ichi no Hoshi!" Temari said, revealing the first dot on her fan.

"Oh boy, she's gonna use _that_?" Kankurou muttered, rolling his eyes.

Hinata paused. This was a familiar move. Didn't Hinata saw Temari used this some time ago?

Was it during the Chunnin Exam?

Hinata wasn't sure. But she knew that whatever Temari was about to do, it was going to have a powerful impact.

"Ni no Hoshi!" Temari said again, ignoring Kankurou's comment. A second dot appeared on her fan.

"Wait a minute!" Kankurou said quickly, widening his eyes. "Gaara, stop her! She's going to…"

"Destroy the entire forest." Gaara finished, still folding his arms and looking as if he didn't care.

Hinata stole a glance at the Kazekage. She felt it was not in her place to speak. After all, these Sand-nins were much stronger than her. Yet, she could not fight her inner desire to stop Temari from unleashing her wrath upon the innocent forest.

"Temari-chan, please stop this!" she finally voiced out her thoughts. Her voice held a strange sort of tightness in it, that all three Sand-nins turned to look at her, with the most bizarre look on their faces, like they didn't expect that she _could_ actually talk.

"The animals…and the forest…they are one." Hinata continued, her face flushing furiously at the attention the Sand-nins were giving her. But she felt compelled to get her point across, no matter how uncomfortable this was for her. "If you destroy the entire forest, so many lives will be…"

Temari rolled her eyes just then and Hinata immediately stopped talking. Turning to Gaara, Temari yawned. "So brother, do we want to save the forest today?"

As the question was posed to the Kazekage now, Hinata, too, turned to Gaara with wide and perhaps, somewhat pleading eyes.

_Please don't hurt the forest, there must be some other way._ She thought and hoped that the Kazekage felt the same way too.

The red-haired sand-nin folded his arms. If he was truly giving this issue a thought, he did not let it show on his face. In less than a minute, he had made his decision.

Without so much as looking at the Hyuuga heir, he nodded, and for a moment, Hinata smiled, as if finally understanding why she was so taken in with the Kazekage, for he was a good man with a good heart.

But the Kazekage's next sentence froze her heart. "Destroy the forest, Temari."

A smile crept onto Temari's face. "San no Hoshi!"

Hinata lowered her eyes in silent defeat and briefly scolded herself for actually thinking that the Kazekage would care. Couldn't he see that destroying the entire forest was just…too irresponsible?

A third dot was revealed on the fan. "Step back, my brothers!" Temari said, a serious look on her face.

Both Gaara and Kankurou took a few steps back. Hinata didn't.

"You don't want to stand too close." Kankurou said, matter-of-factly. "You'll get blown away. Or you may even get hurt."

But Hinata refused to budge. She did not know where this sudden bout of stubbornness came from. Perhaps it was hidden within her all the time and only today, did she unleash that part of her.

"I won't allow you to destroy the entire forest." She said strongly, her pale violet eyes seemed to glow with determination as she stared at Temari.

"Hey sister, we don't have time for your little games." Temari said angrily. An annoyed frown started to cross her face. "We have a missing-nin to catch and if you're truly a Konoha nin, you'll put the mission first before your own personal feelings!"

_The mission before my personal…feelings?_

Hinata paused, letting the words of the Sand-nin sank into her. Temari was right, the Hyuuga thought. She had let her personal feelings stood in the way of the mission, and didn't she learn in her Genin days that this made the weakest ninja?

_What am I doing…?_ She thought, biting her lower lips in shame and also in the harsh realization that perhaps, she did not have what it takes to be a ninja, and least of all, a Hyuuga successor after all.

Letting a moment of awkward silence passed between them, Gaara finally spoke. "Hinata, stand back." He said, his tone nothing short of commanding.

The Hyuuga nodded quietly. With her head down, she moved quietly to the back and no more words were spoken.

"I'll clear a forest path for you in no time." Temari said finally and her eyes narrowed with concentration. "Kamaitachi!"

As she finished her words, Temari gave the fan a gigantic swipe. Immediately, an enormous slashing wind was unleashed from her weapon. The wind slashed the trees and all that stood in its way and before long, what lies before them, was a clean forest path, and all its former life, destroyed.

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Twenty miles east from the allied teams, a young girl spun around, feeling gentle wind brushed past her pale, fluorescent skin.

_They've caught up already…? _

Pulling out a kunai from the small leather bag that hung loosely around her waist, she started to carve something on the tree trunk in front of her.

_Done._

The trees above her rustled slightly and she swiftly hid behind a tree trunk, just in time to see a three small eagles flew passed her head.

_Damn scouts._

Once she was certain she was alone again, she crept out from behind the tree and started to make her trap.

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Neji's team was making progress. It was fortunate for them that Neji was in their team, because he was able to use his Byakugan to see through the dark forest and lead his team safely towards their destination.

"I think we're reaching into the heart of the island." Neji said, turning around to see how his teammates were faring.

Tenten looked tired. Beats of perspiration had formed on her forehead. Lee, however, looked energetic and full of spirit.

Neji silently admired how Lee was always deeply motivated in all his missions.

"Hey look! What's that?" Tenten suddenly said, pointing at a tree trunk.

Neji turned around to see what Tenten was referring to. It was then he noticed there were some strange inscriptions carved on the trunk of one tree.

"That's weird." Lee said, leaning nearer to see what the writings were.

_"To all who come here, safe and sound,_

_May my spells lead you abound,_

_For you have stepped into the light_

_That shall haunt you day and night."_

"Can you understand the writing, Lee?" Neji asked.

The taijutsu expert shook his head. "No, Neji-san. It doesn't look like our normal language."

"…No, it doesn't…" Neji muttered, frowning. Swiftly, he pulled out a small piece of cloth from his leather bag.

"What are you planning to do?" Tenten asked, worriedly.

"I'm going to shift this inscription into the cloth, using my Chakra." Neji replied. With that, he lightly placed the cloth over the inscriptions and started to gather Chakra into his left palm.

Lee and Tenten stood aside, watching the Jounin as he slammed his palm onto the cloth. The leaves above them shook and sprinkled down onto the grass.

"Is it working?" Lee asked, peering over Neji's shoulder.

Neji had removed the cloth from the tree and held it up so that both Tenten and Lee could see.

The strange inscriptions had been burnt into the plain cloth.

"Now that we have an exact copy of this, we could analyze it further." Neji said, stuffing the cloth back into his pouch.

"Good thinking, Neji-kun." Tenten said, grinning happily.

Just as she finished saying that, the ground below them started to shake.

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**The next chapter will, of course, consist of exciting fight scenes and also, bring our reader to the first introduction to the mysterious missing-nin and her connection to everyone involved in this perilous journey.**

**Thanks for reading and please drop a comment/review on your way out too. :D**


	7. Chapter 7: MissingNin

**A/N: In this chapter, the mysterious missing-nin is finally introduced and her skills and abilities will be nothing short of stunning for you. Keep in mind once again that she does not exist in the naruto manga and therefore, everything about her is made-up. With that, enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 7: Missing-Nin**

Gaara's team moved with ease, now that the trees and shrubs no longer blocked their path. Leaping from branches to branches at high speed, they could see that they were approaching the end of the dense forest soon.

"At this rate, we'll be the first to reach the next checkpoint." Kankurou noted. Hinata glanced at him, but did not say anything. Even though what Temari did to the forest was probably the right thing to do, under the circumstances of this mission, she had not yet fully recovered from the shock and disappointment of it.

Temari spoke, after a moment of hesitation. "We'll just hurry up and secure the missing-nin. This mission is already taking too long."

"But we don't even know where she is…" Hinata muttered. She didn't mean to be pessimistic, but the fact that Temari seemed so confident about securing the missing-nin when they really know next to nothing about her, seemed like misplaced optimism.

"Oh don't worry, Hinata." Kankurou replied, but casting a glance at Gaara. "We have someone with us that'll end this mission quickly."

Hinata knew who Kankurou was talking about. Hesitatingly, she stole a glance at the Kazekage. She was still afraid of meeting his strong gaze directly.

Gaara did not seem to hear what his sibling had said, or else he had chosen not to, for he remained as quiet and grave as ever.

"Gaara?" Temari said, casting a quick glance at her youngest brother. "Something on your mind?"

Once again, the Kazekage was silent. As if a heavy burden was on his mind. Even though Hinata had met Gaara on several occasions in the past, during the Chunin Exam held in Konoha, she had never had any form of direct interaction with the Sand-nin. However, this time, she almost could see a shadow of sadness in those dark, sinful eyes.

_What is troubling you so, Gaara-sama?_

At Gaara's silence, Temari turned back and met Kankurou's gaze again. Both of them exchanged a knowing nod without saying anything more. Hinata kept quiet, unsure of what to say or do next.

Up ahead, they finally saw the bright sunshine. They were out of the forest! The group slowed to a stop.

"Finally! Sunshine again!" Temari said, basking herself in the warm sunlight.

Hinata looked around. There were no other movements. They were standing on solid ground and out in the open, with the sun above them.

The land ahead looked barren. Hinata knew their next checkpoint was near.

It didn't take them long to find the willow tree beside the forked path that led to the mountains.

"Looks like we're the first one to reach here." Kankurou said.

Behind Hinata, Gaara walked to the side of the road where a few wild flowers grew. He saw the white flower and pluck it out of the soil.

"Konoha really have some weak chunins." Temari said, rolling her eyes as she watched Gaara pulled out three petals from the wild flower.

She had said that out loud deliberately, ignoring the fact that Hinata was from Konoha. This made the Hyuuga heir annoyed, even though she would never show it up front.

"We're not weak." She muttered softly. "I'm sure Neji-sama and the others are reaching soon. Neji nii-san is a very strong Jounin now…"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Temari brushed her hair. "I was just making a comment."

Gaara appeared to have heard the exchange between his sibling and the Hyuuga. "It's not over yet." He said quietly, and for a very short moment, his eyes met Hinata's, before pulling them away and lowering his gaze to the flower, which only had two petals left.

"I say we find an inn somewhere and lodged in while waiting for the rest to catch up!" Kankurou suggested, squatting down by the empty roadside. "This country sure is dull."

Hinata nodded but turned to look at Gaara for further instructions. The Kazekage was no longer looking at her but was walking towards the willow tree.

Hinata watched him quietly as he gently buried the white flower beneath the willow tree, so that only its snow-white petals could be seen.

"There, we're done here." Temari said as she watched Gaara brushed away the dirt from his hand and clothes.

"Let's move on." Gaara replied, but not before he took one last look at the white flower.

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"Neji! The ground! It's…" Tenten cried out but before she could finish her sentence, she realized she couldn't move. Her legs were stuck to the ground.

"What's happening? My legs…they won't…" Lee stammered, confused.

Before Neji could reply, a sudden fierce swirl of wind seemed to slash up from below the ground, cutting through their skin and clothes.

"Argh!" Tenten screamed. There were several clean cuts on her face, hands and legs. So clean that no blood was shed. But the pain was real, nonetheless.

"This is a trap!" Lee called out, trying to muster up all his strength to move his legs.

_This won't work, _Neji thought. Using his Byakugan, he could see what was holding their feet down.

There were swirls of strong wind that sucked their feet to the earth, preventing them from even lifting their legs.

But the wind only immobilized their feet. Their hands and bodies were still mobile.

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A good distance away, hidden atop a tree, the young girl watched as her prey fell into her trap. She had been slightly surprised at her pursuers because they looked rather young, but regardless, anyone that threatened her freedom shall be dealt with severely.

When she was certain they were fully immobilized, the ninja leaped down from the tree and slowly approached her targets, a silver kunai shaped in the form of a half-crescent, in her hand.

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"Neji, Lee!" Tenten cried out again in pain, as the fierce wind continued to slash their upper bodies. "I…" her face turned pale from the anguish of the torture from the wind. "I…I can't…"

"Tenten! Hold…hold on…don't…don't…" Neji shouted back, amidst the loud whirling noise of the wind. But even his lips were cut by the wind and he cringed in pain.

"Enjoying yourselves?" a low female voice suddenly spoke, from behind them.

Everyone froze in their stance. But already Neji could tell who it was. His Byakugan was activated earlier, and this enemy had not realized she was exposed.

Although her face was partially hidden by a white scarf that covered her mouth and nose, her eyes were big, almond-shaped, and what caught Neji's attention, were those intense sharp green eyes. He had never come across such fierce and cold green eyes before, and they chilled him even a little. It was like there was no soul in those eyes.

She was also small-framed, even smaller than Tenten. Her clothes were nothing like a ninja, for they were mostly made of pale green cloths, mixed with white and very light for they flutter freely around her against the wind. A white cape hung over her head, concealing most of her hair, except for a few black strands that reached down to a little below her shoulders.

There was something curious on her forehead, which she hung it across like an accessory. Neji noted that the jewel in the center looked almost like a teardrop.

A small hand extended out and Neji saw that it held a silver kunai shaped like half of a moon, the first time he'd seen such an odd color and design on a ninja weapon.

_Damn it, we've been careless,_ Neji thought. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Lee and Tenten glancing at him, hoping Neji could come up with a solution.

But the truth was, he was all out of ideas.

There was every chance that this stranger was the missing-nin they were searching for. But there was also the possibility that she was with the Akatsuki.

Neji decided to take a bet on it.

"Who are you?" Neji asked, his voice firm and unwavering. The slashing wind had not subsided, but he refused to let the pain overtook his mind.

"That's something you'll never know." The stranger replied. She had moved up nearer behind him. He could see her clearly now. His Byakugan let him see her Chakra, which were an astonishing overflowing green color. He had never, in his life, ever seen such a weird flux of chakra before.

_Her whole body is covered in Chakra…_

"Listen, we're not the enemy." Neji said, desperately trying to buy his time. He had already gathered an immense amount of Chakra into the bottom of his feet, hoping that when the opportunity arose, he could use his Chakra to force his feet free.

"That's something I'll decide." The stranger said, coldly.

_If I can…if I can just…use a little bit more strength…I can pull my feet out…_

"Are you with the Akatsuki?" Lee blurted out.

The slashing wind picked up speed, and Lee cried out in pain.

"Stop it!" Tenten shouted angrily, "If you want to fight us, fight fairly!"

"Hmm." The stranger chuckled slightly. "I can just squish you like a bug and I won't even break out a sweat."

_Yes…I can feel it…my feet…I can…move it a little…_

"Argh!" Tenten bit her lips as more wind slashed up towards her body, causing her arms to bleed now.

"It's pretty pathetic how they send worms like you after me." The stranger said, still standing behind them.

_Yes…just…just a bit more…_

"Surely they should know they need more than your average Chunins level to capture me."

_NOW!_

Without warning, Neji leaped up high from where he was standing before and did a complete turn, so that he was now standing behind the white-clothed stranger.

The stranger spun around, surprise written clearly across her intense green eyes. "How did you…?"

But Neji did not wait for her to finish.

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" he cried out, his palms in front of him and his stance ready for action.

"That…that formation…" The stranger frowned. "You're from the Hyuuga Clan, aren't you?"

"Hyuuga Neji, at your service." Neji said calmly, and his eyes suddenly widened and the stranger could see the whites in them.

Before she could react, Neji was dashing towards her. The first hit landed accurately on the tip of her shoulder, closing one of tenketsu.

The second hit landed on her wrist, the third on her left shoulder, and the fourth near her stomach.

It was far too quick for the stranger to dodge and she fall back, only to be lifted up again by Neji's Chakra and more hits landed on her legs, torso and neck.

"12 hits!" Neji said calmly, not slowing down. "24 hits!"

The stranger growled angrily. "Not so easy, kid!" she said and when Neji's next move was about to strike her lungs, she leaped aside, did a double turn and rolled away from the Hyuuga.

There was no time to lose.

"Makyou Hyoushou!" The stranger chanted and her hands moved quickly to perform the Jutsu. Suddenly, Neji found himself surrounded by tall mirrors.

"It's a good thing that it rained just now." The stranger said, smiling.

"Neji!" Both Lee and Tenten cried out. They were helpless and watching their leader trapped in mirrors made up of water and ice made them feared the worst.

"Let me entertain you, just for a little." The stranger said, "This is called the Demonic Ice Mirrors. A secret Jutsu which will be the last thing you see."

_Impossible, even though I failed to land all 64 hits, I blocked off several of her tenketsu. She shouldn't be able to…_

"I have an unlimited amount of Chakra." The stranger said, as if reading his mind. "Your feeble attacks are useless against me."

"Damn," Neji muttered. The stranger had merged herself into the mirrors now and she was everywhere.

"Your Byakugan is useless here. There is only one me." The stranger replied. "But the mirrors reflect all of me and all the images you see here, are real."

"I should let you know one thing, before you passed on to the next world," The stranger continued, a small smile appeared on her face, as if she was going to enjoy killing the Hyuuga.

"My name is…Rin."

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**Angry readers: RIN! But she's from the Naruto Manga! You CANNOT USE HER NAME HERE!  
Author: This Rin is not the same person from the Rin in the Naruto manga.  
Angry readers: We don't care! Give a little bit more originality to your names!  
Author: Eh...I'm too lazy to change the name now. So you're gonna have to live with that, okay-dokey?  
Angry readers: ...**

Thanks for reading this chapter and remember to drop a review when you have the chance! 


	8. Chapter 8: Green Tea

**A/N: Another update! I know some of you are questioning the role of Hinata in this mission, for it seemed as if she had none. Well, don't worry. Her role will gradually take form and you will begin to understand why she was even chosen to be in this mission in the first place. **

**Chapter 8: Green Tea**

"Neji!" Tenten cried as she watched Neji being trapped by the ice mirrors.

"This technique!" Lee muttered, clenching his fists, "Gai-sensei told me before…"

_I won't be stopped here!_

Rin had already merged herself into the mirrors. She was everywhere and Neji could not tell, even with Byakugan, which mirror she was hiding in. For all the mirrors reflected the missing-nin and all of it contained her mysterious green Chakra.

_This is a secret Jutsu…?_

"Unlike you, I don't have time to fool around." Rin said and pulled out three silver kunai from her pouch. "I'll end this fast."

_Damn! I can't tell where the kunai will be coming from!_

The attack came, without warning or hesitation. Neji dodged two of the kunai. They slipped very closely past his left shoulder and arm.

_No, there's one more kunai!_

His realization hit him. The third kunai came, half a second slower than the first two, which she had released simultaneously.

The third silver kunai hit him in his chest. She had gone for his vital spots.

Neji's knees buckled and he fell, face down, onto the ground.

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That was easier than she had expected. The mirrors dissolved away and she walked towards the body of the Jounin.

"NO!" The girl who was held captive, screamed. There was so much pain and anguish in her voice that Rin was amused.

"Is he so important to you?" She asked, walking slowly towards her two victims.

The girl shouted, her face contorted into pain and sorrow. "NEJI!"

"Humph." Rin slowly drew out another silver kunai and walking towards the girl, "Interesting. I'll let you meet him in an…"

Her words trailed off when she realized something was holding her right foot.

Throwing her head back to see what it was, she saw a bloodied hand, full of Chakra, clasping hard around her foot.

_Damn! How could this be!_

Neji had one eye opened, his left hand grasping Rin's leg, refusing to let go.

"You should be dead!" Rin cried out, angrily. Her brows frowned and an immense green Chakra started to surround her small frame.

"I…I won't…let you…go." The Jounin whispered, blood seeped down from his slightly opened mouth.

_He is stronger than I'd expected…_

Rin turned around to face him now. "Then I'll just make sure you _die_ this time!"

Widening her eyes, she raised her silver kunai up in the air, and in one swift stroke, brought the kunai down to her victim.

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A loud metallic sound rang off, throwing her hand away from her victim and she stumbled back, slightly dazed and more annoyed than ever.

"Yo, relax. Don't get so agitated." The lazy voice said.

Rin looked up and saw another Jounin, sitting on the branch of a tree. She realized he had thrown another kunai just in time to repel her silver kunai away from the Hyuuga.

The newly arrived Jounin leaped down from the tree and landed in front of the Hyuuga. He was taller and bigger than Rin would have like. A navy blue mask wrapped across half of his face, so that only one eye was revealed. He had a head of snow white hair, and his one visible eye told Rin that he was much more senior in terms of experience and skills, as compared to the other nins she had faced.

Already, Rin could tell he was strong.

"Kaka-sensei!" The one clad in green spandex called out, almost gratefully.

"Save Neji-kun, please!" The brown haired girl pleaded.

_Might this be…copy ninja Kakashi…?_

"Looks like I'm badly outnumbered." Rin said, smiling now as if she doesn't have a care in the world. "Fine. I'll go."

She started to turn around but the one called Kakashi called out.

"Wait! We've been searching for you."

"Sorry." She bent down and picked up the silver kunai that was earlier deflected. "I don't do favors for anyone."

"We're not with the Akatsuki." Kakashi continued, taking one step towards her. "In fact, we were sent here to protect you."

This make the white ninja laughed. "Protect me? How can your people protect me when they are so…_weak_." She spun around and cold green eyes met Kakashi's. "Besides, how do you know that I'm not already _in _the Akatsuki Organization?"

Kakashi smiled back, to Rin's greater annoyance. "Because I know you, Rin."

_He knows my name!_

She folded her arms. "I see you've done your homework. Sorry. I have better things to do." She turned her back on him. "And just for the record," she whispered, darkly. "If your men ever follow me again, this time…I'll _kill_ them."

With that, a strong gust of wind suddenly gushed towards them and with a blink of an eye, the white ninja was gone.

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Gaara's team managed to find the inn where they were supposed to rendezvous with Neji's team. However, the sun was already setting. Neji's team was late.

The room where the three Sand-nins and the young Hyuuga heir lodged into, was small but it had four beds and a tea table. Hinata proceeded to pour the green tea for everyone.

"Rest at last!" Kankurou stretched his legs. "This country is so boring."

"Yeah, but at least we didn't run into any problems that slow us down." Temari replied, putting her fan on the table in the center of the room.

"Have you gone soft, Temari?" Kankurou snickered, sitting up. "Ever since you and that Shikamaru guy…"

"It has nothing to do with him!" Temari reddened. "And I haven't gone soft!"

Gaara stared at his siblings, thinking how childish they both were, before retiring to the balcony.

Hinata cast a glance at the retreating Kazekage before his form disappeared completely from view.

"Gaara?" Temari turned to look at her brother but he had already disappeared into the balcony.

"What's wrong with him?" Kankurou asked, glancing at Temari.

Temari shrugged. "I don't know…something has been bothering him ever since he accepted this mission…"

Hinata paused, before asking even though she was sure she was intruding. "Is Gaara-sama…upset with something?"

Temari turned to look at the Hyuuga, and raised an eyebrow, as if her question was amusing. "Gaara is _always_ upset with something." Then her expression turned serious and there was a sad glimmer in her eyes. "The sky's turning dark…and that's the reason…"

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Gaara sat quietly at the railing of the balcony. The sun had begun to set and the sky turned reddish orange. It was almost a beautiful sight. Gaara had slowly learnt to appreciate the view of the sunset over the past few years.

Even though the approaching night reminded him of his sins.

"Gaara, why don't you go to sleep?" 

"…"

"…_Gaara, you could at least…try to…get used to it…"_

Free from Shukaku three years ago, Gaara felt lighter and free of a heavy burden. A feeling he didn't think he would ever feel.

But it was real and he had been learning to cope with it.

The moment Tsunade-sama had brought him back to life three years ago, the first person he saw when he opened his eyes was Naruto.

_"Hehe, Gaara. How do you feel?"_

"…_Naruto…?"_

"_Hai! Gaara, you were snoring just now!"_

That was the first time he had slept peacefully. It would be his last time too.

_"Gaara, can't sleep again?"_

"…"

"_Just close your eyes and think of the colors of sunset. It'll make your sleep come easier."_

There was a sudden noise behind him. Gaara shifted his eyes. The sliding door to the balcony was open. Hyugga Hinata stepped in.

Gaara was slightly surprised. He had expected Temari, for she had always been the one telling him to sleep. The Hyuuga looked a little flustered and nervous. She was clenching and unclenching her hands.

"Umm…good evening, Gaara-sama."

Gaara did not reply. The sun had set. The sky was now a dark midnight blue. Whatever the Hyuuga want with him, he decided he did not really care.

"I…do you want some tea?" Hinata asked meekly. The Kazekage was looking out at the sky, as if not hearing her.

"No." He suddenly said, after a moment of silence.

"I…" Hinata started to say again, but held back her tongue. She did not know how to put it. She did not even know if she had the right to speak to him like she cared about him, when in fact, she knew it in her heart that she pitied the Kazekage.

"What do you want?" Gaara said again, this time he turned to look at her. Those dark-rimmed eyes seemed to be a reminder of his former monstrous self.

It was at this moment that Hinata decided that she should braced herself up for whatever consequences that should happen. For she had decided to take a step forward into his life.

Her decision would change both their lives forever, even though at that precise moment, they would have no idea of what was to come.

The Hyuuga suddenly stepped forward and took a seat, next to the Kazekage, much to the latter's surprise although he would never allow it to show on his face.

"My father told me that a warm cup of green tea soothes one's soul. He would make me drink it after our training." Hinata said, her pale violet eyes shining with the warm memory.

Gaara paused, not knowing what to say to the Hyuuga, yet he didn't really want to tell her to get lost either.

Hinata continued, "He also said that a warm cup of green tea will make one sleep easily." Turning her head sideway to glance at the Kazekage and having met his dark, soulless eyes, she flashed him a warm and gentle smile.

He understood her meaning immediately. Meeting her violet eyes, he asked, "Do you think…I'll ever sleep again?" It was an odd question to ask the Hyuuga. Yet, Gaara felt compelled to ask anway. It was as if she would know the answers to those burning questions that had tugged at his soul every night.

A smile crept onto her face. At that moment, Gaara felt like he was the _intruder_. For it seemed she was too pure and innocent and he was too tainted with sin.

"Of course." She replied, smiling directly at him. No longer was there uncertainty and nervousness in her eyes. She felt completely at ease with the Kazekage now. Perhaps it was because she had come to understand him a little better today. "I think one day, you'll be able to sleep soundly." She said earnestly. "Just believe in yourself, Gaara."

She didn't call him _Gaara-sama_, the Kazekage noted but did not say anything else.

Hinata got up to her feet once more, having felt that she might have outstayed her welcome.

"There's a warm pot of tea on the table." She said, before turning to leave.

"Hinata…" Gaara suddenly said and the Hyuuga turned around quickly.

"Yes?"

Turning away from her gaze, he muttered. "Thank you…for believing in me."

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**I hope that's enough GaaraHina for you. Note that Kakashi's sudden appearance into the fiction isn't coincidental either. He won't play a very big part in this fiction, yet his sudden appearance would mean something. Direct any questions and queries to the comment box and drop a review too. Arigatou!**


	9. Chapter 9: Uncertainties

**A/N: In this chapter, Hinata actually get to be useful:D**

**Chapter 9: Uncertainties**

"Neji-kun…!" Tenten bit her lips nervously. "Will he be all right?"

"Don't worry." Kakashi said. "The kunai did not hit his lungs."

_Neji must have dodged it in time…_

"But the blood…" Lee whispered, looking deeply concerned. It wasn't surprising though, how both Lee and Tenten were pale from fear. It had been a long time since they had last saw Neji so seriously injured.

Kakashi carried Neji. "But we don't have a moment to lose. Let's quickly go!"

"…Go where?" Tenten asked, looking up at the elite Jounin.

"To the checkpoint. If everything goes well, Gaara and the rest should be there. Hinata is with them. She will be able to heal Neji's wounds, being a Hyuuga herself. She would be able to see what is wrong with Neji's internal organs and heal him."

"Yosh! Then let's go quickly!" Lee said with renewed strength.

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Hinata had her eyes closed, almost drifting off to sleep when someone suddenly roused her.

Opening her sleepy violet eyes, she saw that it was Temari.

"Yes, Temari-chan?" the Hyuuga sat up immediately, rubbing her eyes drowsily.

Temari had an expression of calmness as she rest her hands on her hips.

"It's Neji. He's injured."

"What?" Hinata immediately stood up. "Where?"

"Kakashi just carried him to the next room." Temari replied calmly, as if it did not really concern her."You should go there as soon as possible."

"…Hai!"

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The wounds that laid opened before her, was something Hinata had never come across before. Besides the obvious wound made from a kunai near Neji's lungs, Hinata detected through Byakugan that the other cuts were all clean and almost expertly done.

Hinata wondered what could cause these cuts.

"Hinata, please save Neji-kun!" Tenten was already on the verge of tearing.

"Tenten, Lee." Kakashi said quietly, "Leave the room. Let Hinata do her work."

"But…" Tenten muttered, unable to tear her eyes away from the unconscious Neji.

"I will do my best. Don't worry." Hinata said suddenly, her eyes in concentrated focus.

Everyone left the room, except for Kakashi, who decided to stay behind.

"How is he doing?" Kakashi asked, grimly.

_He shouldn't have been able to survive an attack from the White Nin, _he thought.

Hinata had concentrate her a part of her Chakra into her palms and was now healing the kunai wound, which had caused Neji to lose quite an amount of blood.

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sempai. I won't give up on Neji-san."

_Thank you, Hinata_…

Kakashi turned to look at Neji. The Hyuuga had his eyes closed and was breathing slowly.

"But…these wounds are strange…do you know who injured him?"Hinata asked quietly.

Kakashi paused, surprised that Hinata would make such a comment. But then again, perhaps he had underestimated the young Hyuuga. After all, she was the heir to the Hyuuga bloodline. It was not surprising that she should notice something quite odd with the wounds, using her Byakugan.

However, he was hesitant to tell her about Rin.

Hinata looked at the senior Jounin thoughtfully. Her Byakugan detected that he was hiding something. Yet she chose not to probe him further with questions.

The fact that the elite Jounin was suddenly here while they were in the middle of their mission, was a curious event in itself.

"How did you find them?" Hinata asked, changing the topic.

"Oh." Kakashi muttered, scratching his head. "Pure luck, Hinata."

_Is it really just pure luck, Kakashi-sempai…?_

Hinata closed her eyes briefly and felt the wounds closed up. She removed her palms. "He will be fine, Kakashi-sempai"

Kakashi nodded calmly, though he was in fact, really surprised.

_Maybe Rin did not give it all she got…or…Neji has grown stronger again…_

"…Kakashi-sempai?" Hinata's voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"It was her, right?" She whispered, lowering her head. Strands of dark blue hair fell across her face.

Kakashi smiled easily. "What do you mean?"

"…The one that hurt Neji-san." Hinata said, biting her lower lips. "It's the missing-nin we were sent to rescue, right?"

_Hinata, you've become sharper lately_, Kakashi thought. Then, with a slight wave, he stood up.

"Don't worry, Hinata. Everything's being taken care of."

"But Kakashi-sempai!" The Hyuuga heir's head shot up. She wanted to ask him why he was here all of a sudden. Were all of their lives in danger too? Was that why he was here to help them? And just how strong this missing-nin was, to be able to injure Hyuuga Neji like that.

But instead, Hinata only asked one question.

"Does this mean she's with the Akatsuki Organization now?"

Kakashi turned around and met Hinata's worried eyes. "Not necessarily, Hinata. Not necessarily."

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The White Nin approached the Hidden Village of Cloud, a small smile on her face. It was early dawn and the village was quiet, except for a few vendors on the street, just setting up business.

_Good, finally a place to relax a little._

She saw an inn at the right side of the street and entered it. A small but plump lady greeted her with a warm smile.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"Get me a room, and food." Rin replied and took a seat at a table.

"Yes, right away, miss." The lady said and disappeared into the back of the room.

Rin glanced around. There was not much people at this early hour. Except for a fisherman and his son seated on the right side of her table.

The food came and she quietly ate. Her thoughts flittingly went back to her strange encounter in the forest.

_Hyuuga Neji, huh? Interesting fellow_, she thought. Her left chest had been aching ever since she had left the forest. She guessed the Hyuuga must have landed some good hits on her.

Picking up her wine glass, she was about to bring it to her lips when a sudden surge of pain hit her chest and she choked and coughed out. The fisherman and his son turned around to look at her briefly.

_Damn!_

Clutching her chest, she decided it would be better to retire to her room. But just then, shadows loomed over her.

She paused, feeling a sense of dark forbodiness.

A familiar voice greeted her and it sent a ghostly chill down her spine.

"Ohayou, Rin-chan."

_Just my luck…_

She turned around and forcing a small smile, glanced briefly at the two newcomers that now stood behind her.

"Ah, Itachi-kun. And Kisame. It's been a while." She replied.

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**I apologize for the somewhat short chapter. The next one will be longer I promise. Oh and Uchiha Itachi has finally entered the story. Excited?**

**Please drop a review if you like this story. Thanks:)**


	10. Chapter 10: The arrival of the SandNins

** A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates! If you've been following this story from the very beginning, you'll realize this is not just a story about Gaara and Hinata, but there is an interesting relationship going on between Neji, Gaara, Hinata and Rin. So please bear with me if there isn't a lot of GaaraXHinata at the moment.**

**Chapter Ten: The arrival of the Sand Nins**

He thought he heard soft voices murmuring his name.

_Neji-kun…Neji-kun…_

His eyes could not open, even though he wanted to. He wanted to see who was calling him.

A flash of spirited green eyes. White garb flew passed his face. He could almost smell the scent of the White Plumes, a type of flower that only grew during winter.

_Neji-kun…?_

The white shadows before him turned around. He tried desperately to reach for her, yet she was a few steps too far away and his legs would not move.

_Neji-kun…can you hear me?_

The white cape that previously hid her face fell apart, revealing luscious thick black hair that flowed down gently to her waist. Her pink lips moved, as if she was talking. She seemed to be saying something important to him because she looked serious.

Yet no voice came out of her mouth.

_Neji-kun, wake up…_

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Neji opened his eyes abruptly. The sudden brightness of the room blinded him momentarily. He saw that Tenten was hovering above him. She seemed both shocked and embarrassed at the same time.

"Oh Neji-kun! You're finally awake!" Tenten said, smiling happily. There were tears in her big brown eyes.

"What's wrong, Tenten?" he asked, almost dazedly.

She shook her head quickly. "No…it's nothing. I'm just glad you're well."

The Hyuuga nodded and his chest hurts when he tried to sit up. Tenten hurriedly helped him up. "You shouldn't move around too much. Hinata said…"

"Where is she?" he asked, glancing around, before Tenten had the chance to finish her sentence.

"…Hinata? She's with…"

"Rin."

The smile on Tenten's face disappeared. "She escaped. Kakashi-sensei appeared just in time when she tried to strike you."

"She…escaped?" He almost could not believe it.

"Yes. We brought you here to the inn, where Hinata treated your wounds."

Neji nodded absentmindedly. His mind was trying to piece together what had happened at that forest.

And the strange dream he had just a moment ago.

"What about the rest of the teams?" Neji asked. "Where's Lee?"

"He's having breakfast. I've brought up some porridge for you so if you're…"

"I'm not hungry." Neji interrupted. He felt ashamed that he was the only one that had fallen. He tried to climb back up to his feet.

"Wait! Hinata said you need to rest longer!" Tenten protested, her eyes widening.

"No." Neji clenched his teeth as a surge of pain cut through his chest. "There's no time to lose. We need to find…"

"Don't worry!" Tenten quickly said, "Gaara's team had already headed to the Hidden Village of Cloud."

"She's there?"

Tenten paused for a while, before saying, "Kakashi said it's a high probability. The Hidden village is only the next nearest stop."

Neji nodded and climbed up to his feet without warning.

"Hey!" Tenten was about to protest again.

"Tenten, I'm not a child." Neji said firmly and almost strictly that Tenten immediately kept quiet. "And my wounds are already much better."

"…Okay."

He started to move out of the room.

"Where are you going?" she asked, watching Neji's back. He seemed a lot more disturbed than usual. Tenten decided it must be due to the White Nin. Neji was probably still sore over his apparent "defeat".

"I'm going to the washroom. Grab a bite yourself, Tenten. We're heading out in ten minutes time."

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"He wants to move out now?" Lee gulped down the last bit of his drink.

"Neji's tough. Don't worry about him." Kakashi muttered.

"But…" Tenten sighed and sat down. "He's pretty stubborn about this, that's for sure."

"Tenten, you should get some rest while you can. You've been taking care of Neji all night." Lee said, glancing at her with concern.

The girl shook her head. "I'm fine, Lee. Don't worry."

There were approaching footsteps and everyone at the table quiet down. Neji appeared shortly, his expressions unreadable.

"Ohayou, Neji-san!" Lee greeted, waving at him.

Neji simply nodded. He made no intentions to sit down at the table. "Lee, Tenten, finish up your food and we'll be leaving."

"So soon?" Lee glanced up. "Are you ready to…"

"I'm fine!" Neji suddenly said, his tone definitely one of annoyance.

Kakashi nodded knowingly, as if he could tell what Neji was thinking. "Gaara's team left early this morning."

"Gaara sure is hardworking…" Lee muttered, taking another bite of his rice ball.

"Well," Kakashi muttered, standing up. "Then let us all go together."

"You're coming along with us?" Tenten asked, surprised.

Kakashi smiled. "Don't worry. We won't take the same routes."

"There are two different routes?" Lee asked, widening his eyes.

Tenten glared at her teammate and smacked him hard on the head. "Weren't you listening when Tsunade-sama was drawing up the routes?"

"Ouch!" Lee rubbed his head.

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"We've been looking everywhere for you, Rin-chan." Itachi was saying, his expressions blank. They were both wearing dark cloaks but Itachi had removed his straw hat to reveal his face.

"Really?" Rin muttered calmly, turning back to seep her wine slowly.

_Think of something…fast._

The two Nins stood straight behind her, watching her silently as she brought her wineglass to her lips.

_Mustn't let them know I'm wounded…_

"So, what brings you here?" she asked, turning back to them as she crossed her legs and looked up at the two of them boredly.

"I believe you know the answer to that question."

"Hmm…? Do I?" Rin looked around. The fisherman and his son had just paid the bill and were leaving the inn. "Is that …uh, small business you told me about?"

Itachi didn't look like he wanted to play mind games. He scooped down low, to the level of her face and stared straight at her. "Rin-chan, will you come with us?"

She tried to tear her eyes away from those cold red Sharingans, but she couldn't. Already his gaze was pulling her deeper and deeper within.

_Relax! Just don't look into his eyes._

"I'm on vacation." She said, gamely.

"Rin-chan."

"Yes?"

Itachi stood back up. "I don't think this is negotiable."

_Get right down to the point, huh?  
_

She started to stand up too. "Itachi-kun, I'll _make_ this negotiable."

A small smile crept onto his cold, hard face. Something that is very rare on the Uchiha.

"You don't want to force us, Rin-chan."

Standing a little behind him, Kisame grinned and began to finger his weapon lustily.

She folded her arms. "Try me, Itachi-ku…" her words trailed off because a sudden hard jolt of pain seeped through her chest.

The pain was so sudden that it jolted her whole body forward and she began to lose her balance and fall…

_Baka…no…_

Strong arms grabbed her small waist and broke her fall. She looked up to see cold, unfeeling Sharingan eyes.

_Damn!_

His grip on her waist tightened. "You shouldn't over exert yourself, Rin-chan."

The White Nin paused, fearful of what was to come next. She was definitely no match for Itachi and Kisame now. But if she had been feeling hundred percent, it would be a different story.

Approaching footsteps made both Itachi and Rin turned around. Still in an awkward position in the Uchiha's arms, Rin thought she saw three shadows.

It was only when they entered the inn, that she recognized one of them.

Sabaku no Gaara had arrived.

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**Sorry about the cliff hanger. **


	11. Chapter 11: First Encounter

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! I have not abandoned the fic. In this chapter, the newly arrived nins get to face off the Akatsuki Organization. Who will win?!**

**Chapter 11: First Encounter**

"You know what?" Temari said, "I think I really need a…" Her voice trailed off when she noticed two men and one petite lady standing in the middle of the inn. There was no one else there, not even the innkeeper.

"What's going on?" Kankurou whispered, his expressions darkening slightly. Already he could sense danger.

Behind him, the petite Hyuuga heir peeped out.

_Who are they…?_, Hinata thought.

The two men had their backs faced towards the Nins, but the lady who was lying in the stranger's arms looked up at them expectedly.

Realization struck Hinata only a second later.

"Stay out of this, Gaara." A hard voice spoke. Hinata realized it was coming from the man who was holding the girl.

_How did he know Gaara…?_ Hinata wondered.

She shot a quick glance at the Kazekage. She was surprised to see that anger was etched across his face. It was the first time since this mission, that Hinata had ever seen Gaara looked like this, so full of hatred and rage.

It won't be her last.

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Gaara said in a low and almost dangerous tone. "Don't tell me what to do, fool."

His sentence seemed to strike a chord in the stranger, who slowly turned around and face them. It was then Hinata realized who the mysterious man and his companion were, and she almost choked.

_Uchiha Itachi…and Kisame…?_

"You're not strong enough to defeat me, Gaara. You should know that." Itachi murmured dully.

That only made the Kazekage more enraged. "You don't know that yet."

"Itachi," Kisame had spoken. He was looking at the new arrivals with interest and bloodthirsty eyes. "Let me handle them."

The Uchiha shot a glance at Kisame and nodded. "Go ahead."

It was the green light for Kisame to go crazy. He whipped out his huge blade, wrapped in white cloths and let out a cynical laugh. "I'll send you to meet Hades today!"

The newly arrivals were more than prepared. Gaara was displeased that he could not fight Itachi at this moment. But he figured the quickier he disposed of Kisame, the faster he would hurt the Uchiha.

"Don't underestimate us!" Temari snorted, pulling out her fan. "We're much stronger than we were three years ago!"

Hinata cast a quick glance at Temari. _Did the Sand Nins fought with the Akatsuki Organization three years ago?_ Activating Byakugan, Hinata got into her fighting stance.

Kisame only grinned. "Well then, let me be the judge of that!"

With that, the fight begun. Kisame charged forward and attempt to land a heavy blow on them. The four nins leaped out of the way and the whole inn burst into tumbling woods and splinters.

"Arrrrghh!!!" Kisame charged forward again, gaining on Gaara, who stood his ground and folded his arms. "You no longer have Shukaku to protect you, fool!"

Gaara did not flinched. When Kisame's blade struck at him, huge hard sand flowed out of his gourd and dispelled the attack.

"You have no idea how strong I've become ever since that demon was removed from me." Gaara said calmly.

_He'd gotten stronger…?_ Itachi thought, standing behind and watching the fight closely. _But it can't be…_

"Lies!" Kisame stormed at the Kazekage again. This time, both Temari and Kankurou jumped in the way. Temari unfolded her huge fan.

"Kamaitachi!" Temari cried out and strong slashing wind struck hard against Kisame.

But Kisame was too quick and he leaped high up in the air to avoid the attack.

Gaara stepped forward. Kisame noticed the Kazekage had his eyes closed, and his hands were already performing a number of seals.

Kisame knew that if there was one thing fearful about Gaara, it was his Ninjutsu. He must stopped it from being performed.

It was at this crucial moment that Hinata noticed that Kisame was aiming for Gaara in his next swirl of attack. She knew none of them could fend off the enemy's attack in time.

And so, Hinata did the unthinkable. She flung herself right in the middle, between Kisame and Gaara, with her palms fully flowing with chakra, and her byakugan eyes firmed with a resolution that she would protect the Kazekage at all costs.

_I will be useful for once…_

Kisame widened his eyes when he suddenly saw the young Hyuuga budged in. His blade cut through Hinata's flesh and bright red blood spurted onto his face.

Gaara felt something wet and sticky landed on his cheeks. He looked up only to see his Hinata's body staked by the enemy's blade. A strange sort of raw anger surged through Gaara. Watching as Hinata's body dropped lifelessly to the ground in front of him, he performed the ultimate attack.

Something both Kisame and Itachi did not expect.

"Mugensajin Daitopa!"

Itachi froze. Gaara had just summoned The Great Sandblast Breakthrough. Something he should not have been able to do, after Shukaku's release.

Gaara inhaled deeply and then exhaled a vicious blast of sand and wind.

Kisame was blown back with such a force that he could not see where he was landing.

In the end, he directly knocked off Itachi from his feet and the two of them were blown twenty feet away from the Kazekage.

"Hinata…" Gaara muttered and bent down to carry the limp girl in his arms. The Hyuuga felt so weak and fragile that even the Kazekage was afraid that he would hurt her.

A firm hand rested on Gaara's shoulder and he spun around, expecting the enemy, but met serene green eyes instead.

"Quick! We must go!" The stranger in white said urgently.

"Where?" Gaara asked. He could not take his eyes away from the huge gash on Hinata's torso.

"I know of a place. I will take you there." The girl clad in white said, with urgency.

The Kazekage nodded and took one last look at the Hyuuga heir, who had already lost consciousness.

Gaara was never a religious man. But this day, he said a silent prayer.

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**I know this chapter is short. Too short! The next one will be longer. And thanks for all the comments and feedback. Do continue to drop a review or two to support this fanfiction. Arigatou!**


	12. Chapter 12: White Nin

**A/N: In this chapter, Gaara's team finally meet up with the missing-nin. But meanwhile, at the other side of the mountain, Neji's team will face an enemy they never expected to meet.**

**Chapter 12: White Nin**

Rin decided that she was one lucky girl, after all. When Gaara had unleashed his ultimate attack, she had swiftly lifted her right leg and sent a backward kick towards Itachi's forehead, which caused him to loosen his grip on her while she rolled away in safety.

Of course, she did all that in less than half a second. If there was anything Rin was proud about, it was her immense speed.

She had then swiftly guided the three Sand Nins and the wounded girl out of the village and made a mad dash towards the hiding place that only Rin knew existed.

Or at least, she hoped so.

The hidden place was sacred to her and she did not want anyone foreign to trespass it.

Gaara's attack must have knocked out the two Akatsuki members for a good while, because the four of them were able to make their escape.

But Hinata's condition only worsened by the time they reached the small cave, only dimly lit by white candles.

There was no time to lose. Gaara placed Hinata down and turned towards the White Nin, an expression of constrained worry clouded his eyes.

"Is there any medicine or herbs around here? We have to stop the bleeding or else…"

"Don't worry." Rin said quickly. She felt obligated to help the Nins. After all, they had indirectly helped her, even though she knew their reason for doing so was less than innocent.

"Please do something!" Temari did not like to beg. But she could sense that the young girl standing before her was a powerful Nin. There was just this strange, almost ancient aura about her.

Rin nodded and knelt down beside the Hyuuga, who had already slipped into semi-unconsciousness.

"The wound looks bad. Kisame's blade was meant to kill."

"Will she…?" Temari started to say, but Gaara, who had been quietly standing by the side, suddenly hushed her.

"Temari, let her do her work." Gaara said, firmly.

Rin briefly glanced up and met cold dark-rimmed eyes. She quickly looked away and focused on the task at hand.

_I can't believe they'll actually send Sabaku no Gaara after me…they must be pretty desperate…_

She rested her palms gently on Hinata's wounds and closed her eyes. Light green glow spilled out from under her hands and it seemed to seep into the Hyuuga heir's skin.

The green glow, Gaara noticed, was slowly and gradually sealing up the huge gash across Hinata's torso.

Is this the power of the White Nin? Gaara wondered, watching silently amidst the dark flickering glow of the candle sticks.

In less than a minute, Hinata's gash had fully sealed up but her face was still pale, Gaara noticed, turning his attention to the Hyuuga's restful features.

_Hinata…why did you do such a crazy thing…?_

Rin reopened her eyes and glanced up at the blond girl. "I've stopped the bleeding and sewn up her wound. She will bear the scar for as long as she lives."

A light frown crossed the Kazekage's face. He would have to repay the debt to the Hyuuga somehow, for saving his life. He hated to be indebted to anyone, much less a girl.

"Thank you." Temari replied softly, looking at Hinata's sleeping form. Then she turned to the girl again. "Who are you?"

Before Rin could reply, the redhead who had been standing at the background all this while, suddenly walked towards them.

He had his arms folded.

"At last, we've met." The Kazekage said, his tone serious and devoid of humor. "You've made yourself a very difficult bird to catch."

Rin stood up and brushed away the dirt from her white garment. "I'm a bird that enjoys flying around quite a bit." She replied casually.

Kankurou watched the two of them quietly from the background. Could this girl be the one they were sent to rescue? He could not believe it. The girl must be even younger than himself! And she was the one the hokage had said, was so powerful that the Akatsuki was seeking for her?

"So…you're…" Temari started to stutter, not sure how to react in front of a supposedly almighty person.

The petite girl turned towards her and flashed Temari a rare smile. It actually lit up her whole face, making her seemed younger. "I'm Rin."

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Meanwhile, Neji's team did not head to the Hidden Village of Cloud, as they had wanted to, at first.

Because Neji had another plan.

"Kakashi is already headed there to gather information about the missing-nin. I think we should go elsewhere."

"But isn't that against Tsunade-sama's initial plan?" Tenten asked.

Neji did not even hesitate. "I have an even better plan."

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It turned out Neji's plan was to set up an ambush near the mountaintop, where the exit of the Hidden Village of Cloud led upwards. He figured if Kakashi was unable to hold Rin, she would flee this way.

This plan was of course, all strategized on pure speculation only. But three years as a Jounin had given Neji a good deal of experience and confidence.

The ambush was set in a way that they would detect the White Nin first before she could even sense them. Neji's Byakugan was the key.

Once Lee and Tenten got into their respective positions, Neji activated Byakugan and waited, surveying the surrounding and waiting for the enemy to arrive.

Nothing would have prepared them for the next "enemy" who showed up.

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**Thank you for reading this chapter and please drop a review on your way out! Arigatou!**


	13. Chapter 13: The demonic Puppeteer

**A/N: Welcome to the 13th Chapter! Thanks for all the support and the reviews. In this chapter, a new enemy has arrived on the scene. Can you guess who he is? Also, can Gaara's team convince the White Nin to come back to Konoha with them? And just what exactly is Konoha's REAL intention of acquiring the White Nin? **

**Chapter 13: The demonic Puppeteer**

Back in Konoha village, Genma, a senior Jounin, just arrived at the Hokage's study room bearing grave news.

"What happened, Genma?" Tsunade asked. She could tell from the worried look on Genma's face that something was not right.

"I've received words from the three scouts we send to the Country of Lightning. One of them said they saw the red Sand Nin."

Tsunade was not surprised by the news, though the appearance of the red Sand Nin only confirmed one thing.

The Akatsuki wanted the White Nin badly.

"Sasori of the Red Sands, huh?" Tsunade muttered thoughtfully. "Akatsuki is throwing out everything they'd got."

"What should we do next, Hokage-sama?" Genma asked.

Tsunade paused. If Sasori had appeared, it must mean they were getting desperate. It would also mean that the White Nin had not yet fallen.

There was not a moment to lose.

"Have the scouts send words to the two teams. Warn them that Sasori of the Red Sands have appeared." Tsunade said sharply. "They must know what they're dealing with."

"Surely the Kazekage would be familiar with that name…" Genma pondered out loud.

Tsunade shot him a knowing look. "Indeed. Both of them came from the same Hidden Village of Sand."

"Hokage-sama," Genma started to say, a strange expression on his face. "This White Nin we're so desperate to acquire, is she trustworthy?"

Tsunade did not hesitate when she said this, "Her loyalty lies to no one, but one man. But if we can convince her to join our cause, Akatsuki will fear us." She paused and looked into Genma's wide eyes. "Such is her prowess."

Genma nodded. There was no need for further questions. He left the room and ordered five scouts to send words to the two teams.

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"She's stirring." Temari murmured, staring intently at the Hyuuga.

Gaara immediately turned towards the sleeping form of Hinata, his dark-rimmed eyes fixated upon her pale features. He was silently relieved that the Hyuuga was showing signs of recovery. He had been concerned for her safety ever since they had fled the village of Cloud. Hinata had bled profusely from the open wound. For a moment, he had thought he would lose her.

That thought was strangely unbearable for him. Even though he didn't know Hinata all that well, he had felt somewhat responsible for her well-being.

"She will be all right." The White Nin said, glancing at the three Sand Nins. "Thank you for your aid earlier."

"You know why we're here, don't you?" Temari asked, turning to face her.

The White Nin was shorter than Temari and the latter felt like she was talking to a child. Yet Rin was nothing child-like.

She nodded. "Yes, I do."

Gaara stepped forward. "Then will you come with us?" He didn't want to waste any more time with this mission.

She did not hesitate or even paused to think about it. "No."

"Why not?" Temari blurted out, both surprised and insulted that Rin did not even consider the proposal.

"Because I won't stand to be caged up." Rin replied plainly. "You've helped me back at the inn, and now I've healed your friend. I think we're even."

"B-but…" Temari stuttered.

"Will you join Akatsuki then?" Gaara asked, eyeing her cautiously.

She met his gaze. Rin could tell there was a sad story behind those dark-rimmed eyes. And she looked away quickly. There was something in those depthless eyes that Rin could not bear to look any longer.

"My allegiance lies with no one. I'm a Drifter and will remain a Drifter."

'Wouldn't you even stop to consider?" Temari said quickly. "We were sent here not to capture you, but to aid you against the Akatsuki!"

"And that I thank you wholeheartedly." The White Nin replied. "You are simply shinobis acting under the orders of your leader. You do not see the whole picture. In this time and age, we are but our leader's tools." Her voice softened and she looked away, her clear green eyes beaming with memory. "And I won't be anyone else's tool."

"I'm no simple shinobi." Gaara said. "I'm a leader of my village and I do not intend to make my people into tools for war." He crossed his arms. "Akatsuki, however, has a different goal."

"I'm not unfamiliar with Akatsuki's intentions. For years, they had been on my tail ever since…" her words trailed off and she looked away. "Anyway, I ask that you leave swiftly. And forget about this place…and me."

"What do you mean by tools? Are you saying we're being used by Konoha?" Temari asked, her voice just a little bit louder than usual.

"Tsunade has her reasons for wanting me." Rin said simply. "And it's not a glamorous one."

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Meanwhile, quiet footsteps approached the mountainside, where Neji's team had secretly camped. Neji's Byakugan picked out a fisherman and his son.

_Great…_ Neji thought, sighing.

The fisherman was walking quietly while his son was walking behind him and whistling. They seemed like a carefree bunch.

_Something…is not…quite right…_

Neji noticed the little boy was holding a small doll and he carried a heavy sack, which hung across his thin shoulders.

Sub-consciously, Neji leaned a little forward from atop the tree he was hidden in, trying to get a closer look.

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Meanwhile, a few good distances away from Neji, Lee and Tenten were sprawled up together, behind a huge jagged rock that stuck out of the mountain path. They awaited the signal from Neji to ambush.

It was then they felt footsteps approaching them at fast speed. If they had not been sprawled up against the ground, they would not have sense it. But because the footsteps gave off vibrations in the ground, Lee and Tenten were immediately alerted of the approaching stranger.

Getting up into a defense position, Lee and Tenten waited for the stranger to show himself.

They did not have to wait long.

The stranger appeared from a few meters away from them and Lee immediately saw the Head Protector he was wearing.

It has an insignia of a Leaf.

Both the Chunins relaxed as the scout approached them.

"What's going on?" Tenten asked.

"Sasori of the Red Sands have been spotted in the vicinity. I was send here by Hokage-sama to let you know."

"Sasori of the Red Sands?" Lee muttered, confused.

"That name…it sounds so familiar…" Tenten said, looking at the scout.

The scout nodded. "Sasori is a member of the Akatsuki Organization. He's an enemy to be feared and not to be taken lightly of." He looked around. "Where's your third member?"

"Neji-kun?" Tenten widened her eyes; "He's up ahead…scouting the area for us."

"Make sure you let him know about Sasori. He's a master of disguise and a skilled puppeteer. I have to go inform the other teams now. Good luck!" With that, the scout gave them a nod and disappeared into the horizon.

"Master of…disguise?" Lee turned to look at Tenten. Already, both of them had a dreadful feeling.

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**Thank you for reading this chapter! Hope it's not too short for you and please remember to drop a review for this chapter too! Have a nice day!**


	14. Chapter 14: Temari's scheme

**A/N: My muse found me. And so here's the long awaited Chapter 14. I apologize for my severe lack of updates. Anyway, in this chapter, Neji came face to face with someone he did not expect, while Team Gaara had to deal with a slow progress due to Hinata's injury. And Temari seemed to be planning something on her own.**

**Chapter 14: Temari's scheme**

Neji frowned. Something was not right. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him, or the little boy, who held a small doll in his hand, had an immense amount of Chakra.

For someone so young, it seemed almost unlikely.

_What's going on?_

Byakugan never fooled him. Not even once. It took Neji a second to realize there was something unnatural about this fisherman and his son.

The mountain path was nowhere near any lake, nor did it have any residential housing.

It was strange that the two of them would wander this far out here.

_Unless…_

The young boy suddenly glanced up. His silky eyes met Neji's.

_Impossible! He shouldn't have been able to see me!_

Something light, yet distinctively tough wrapped around Neji's ankles. The Hyugga turned around to see what it was, but only saw two thin white threads.

Before he could understand what was happening, a strong and powerful force pulled him down from his hiding place and he landed ungracefully in front of the fisherman and the son.

"Hi there, are you lost?" the young boy asked, walking nearer towards him. His eyes were wide and his voice was almost innocent-like.

_Almost._

Neji frowned. Something was definitely wrong with this boy. He realized the boy had thin white strings wound around his small wrists. A smile broke from him and it shattered his angelic features.

Because that smile was evil.

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"We can't let you leave." He said, seriously, moving to block the entrance of the cave.

"Is that how you treat someone who just save your teammate?"

Gaara shrugged, as if to say that he does not care. "If you leave this place, chances are the Akatsuki will be after you. If you stick with us, we can ensure your safety, as well as our own."

The White Nin nodded respectfully. "Spoken like a true Kazekage." She said, "Unfortunately, you cannot stop me."

Gaara frowned. His stance changed slightly but it was apparent to Rin's sharp eyes.

_So he will fight in order to stop me…interesting…_

"You cannot beat me yet. Not in your current state." Rin said simply.

Her words seemed to agitate the Kazekage. His eyes grown darker than usual. "If you make me, I will."

Rin did not doubt that he meant what he said. Sabaku no Gaara was truly a man worthy of her respect. Yet he was a courageous fool if he thought he could defeat her.

But she guessed no one knew about her yet. No one except the world leaders knew about her secret.

A secret she would guard with every ounce of her life. A secret she would let it die inside her.

"Rin!" Temari's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Even if you won't come with us back to Konoha, can you at least stay at our side first?"

Gaara turned to look at his sister. What was she up to, this time?

"Because Hinata is still gravely ill." Temari replied. "If you could lend us your strength, just for a couple of days till Hinata fully recovered, we'll never disturb you again."

The White Nin glanced at the sleeping form of the young girl, and paused, thinking about the proposal Temari had just made.

In front of her, Gaara's stance relaxed considerably because he knew he wouldn't have to fight the White Nin to make her stay. He already knew that Rin wasn't going to leave them just yet.

Because of Hinata.

His green eyes shifted hesitantly at the Hyuuga girl. She still looked pale, though her wound was already closing. How long was she going to stay sleeping like that?

Finally, the White Nin nodded faintly. "Fine. " she muttered thinly, almost grudgingly. She didn't know why but she felt softer than usual today. Companionship, even for a flitting moment, did not seem so bad.

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Hinata's wound healed quickly and she was able to walk with the help of Temari, but progress was slow because she had to take frequent rests and was often quickly out of breath.

"I'm so sorry…" The petite girl muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. Somehow, despite the fact that she had tried to protect the Kazekage from Kisame's blade, she ended up slowing down everyone's progress.

_When will I stopped being a burden?_

The White Nin seemed to have read her mind, for she suddenly said, "It was very brave, what you did back there."

Hinata saw shining green eyes smiling warmly at her, and the Hyuuga had to smile back weakly. She didn't know the White Nin very well. Only knew that their mission was to escort her back to Konoha. Tsunade-sama had made it sounded like Rin was a very strong and almost invincible warrior. But now that Hinata could take a closer look at her, she thought the White Nin was just a very pleasant and beautiful young girl.

"Thank you…" Hinata replied, with a smile.

Rin nodded and turned her attention back to the road ahead. Infront of her, was Gaara.

For a moment, Hinata suddenly wondered if Gaara was angry at her, for slowing everyone down. The Kazekage hadn't spoken a word to her ever since she had woken up. Hadn't even bothered to glance at her.

_He must be angry at me…_

"We will cross this mountain path." Rin's voice broke the Hyuuga girl's thoughts. "There'll be plenty of villages at the other side." She glanced at Hinata, "And there'll be medical inns there. It'll be safe there and that's where we will part our ways."

"Sure." Temari said quickly. "Thanks for all your help."

Hinata glanced at Temari curiosly. The Sand Nin caught her glance and gave her a sharp look, as if to tell her not to question anything for now. Hinata shut up, but she knew Temari had something up her sleeve.

Something the White Nin did not expect.

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**Thank you for reading and reviewing:)**


	15. Chapter 15: The Two Minutes Battle

**Chapter 15: The Two-Minutes Battle**

A few feet away, Neji heard the voices of Lee and Tenten. They must have came out of their ambush positions.

"Neji! Beware of him!" Lee leaped in, his stance immediately offensive.

"Neji-kun, he's Sasori of the Red Sands." Tenten added, breathing fast. "Hokage-sama sent a scout to warn us."

Neji nodded intently. He felt the Chakra in the little boy shifted slightly. He had become more excited.

_This could get dangerous…_

"I'm surprised you can see through my disguise." The young boy said. He set down the huge bag he had been holding and began to unload its contents.

Something seemed to move in the bag. Neji frowned. How could it had escaped his sight?

A head of red hair appeared and before long, a young man, with ruffled hair, sleepy eyes and a sharp smile appeared standing besides the young boy.

"Huh? He came out of that bag?" Lee blurted out, eyes widening.

The red head was amused. "I am Sasori of the Red Sands. First, I will use Hiruko to immobilize you with his poison. Then I will cut you open and craft a new puppet, and load your organs into my traps. It will be a short, but painful moment for you."

"…What?" Tenten muttered, disgusted and fearful at the same time. Something about the way he described what he was going to do to them, creeped her out. Especially the way he had so calmly said it.

_This person is…inhuman._

"You're from Akatsuki, aren't you?!" Lee frowned. "You can try but you won't succeed!"

Sasori nodded. As if on que, Hiruko, a puppet with a giant face shaped on the back of it, and a scorpion's tail coming out of its mouth, stood beside him.

"I'll make this end in two minutes." He said calmly.

Behind them, The Hyuuga had been silent for a while. But now, the leader slowly stepped forward.

"I think you're underestimating us." Neji said boldly. "I've observed you and I know your tricks. The fact that you described so clearly what you're going to do to us, allows me to plan my strategy already."

Without waiting for the Akatsuki to reply, Neji continued. "You're a master of puppeteer. Nothing to be arrogant about. You play a few strings to control this puppet of yours. But the puppet can't move without its master." The Hyuuga paused, folding his arms, his Byakugan veins spreading even deeper around his eyes. "That means that you're a long range attacker and your physical body is weak. That's why you hide behind your puppet."

As Neji described these words to the enemy, Lee and Tenten cast a quick glance at each other. They knew what their leader was doing. Both provoking the enemy, as well as giving the battle strategy to them.

Being a long range attacker meant that Lee had to be careful, for his technique was not suitable for long range opponents. Tenten, on the other hand, could deal with long range attacks more efficiently.

And so, a silent strategy was already formed between the three. Lee would attack the frontline enemy, Hiruko, while Tenten would focus on landing vital hits on Sasori. Her attack would be most critical because it was clear that Hiruko would protect its master at all cost.

After what seemed like a moment of silence, Sasori finally spoke up again.

"It _will _end in two minutes, Neji."

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**Filler  
Sasori: It will end in 2 minutes, maybe 1 minute...no no, half a minute. Bah, I can kill you in 5 seconds.  
Neji: ...The clock is already ticking, you arrogant bastard.  
****  
Arigatou for reading and please drop a review on your way out:)**


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